


a pebble for your thoughts

by aeternomin (daelighthwi)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, adelie penguins are so cute, and class president jaemin, and jaemin listening intently, cute animal nerd jeno has me uwuing ok, donghyuck is the sassy friend we all need, jaemin is probably loved by everyone, like imagine him just spouting random facts, mark is the kind of guy thats just Perfect u know, they're the height of romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-28 03:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16232948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daelighthwi/pseuds/aeternomin
Summary: Sometimes, the price of a boyfriend is just one pebble.Alternatively, Jeno finally works up the courage to confess to his crush of 5 years.





	a pebble for your thoughts

**Author's Note:**

> for the true blue beach vibes, listen to [this](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/73PVH4ASEujvao13EwQeyL)! it's just a playlist i threw together and listened to for the fic
> 
> if you've only got time to listen to one song then listen to [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNl3FWMOrE8) on youtube ;> it's the best one for the fic i think

If you were to ask Jeno, he would tell you that humans are by far the most complex living creature in the animal kingdom, in terms of mental capacity. They’re capable of speech, thought, deep emotion– which, unfortunately, also makes them the most _frustrating_.

 

“I don’t understand why you still haven’t asked him out yet,” Donghyuck, case in point, who single-handedly manages to be the most infuriating human to ever walk the earth, quips helpfully as he peers tactlessly at Jaemin over the top rim of Jeno’s metal locker. “I mean it’s been what, two years since you started pining for him? No offence, but it’s getting kind of pathetic.”

 

“Five years,” corrects Jeno, “I’ve liked him since I saw him in middle school. You know, that day? When he punched a kid in the face and knocked out his front teeth.”

 

Donghyuck whistles. “I didn’t know you were into bad boys.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Jeno cheekily, nudging him in the side.

 

But Jeno is hardly paying attention to him, giving him absolutely no reaction except for a noncommittal hum. Somewhere, just a few lockers over, Jaemin’s laughter resonates from where he’s talking to Mark, student body president and Donghyuck’s ever-endearing boyfriend.

 

Jeno wishes he could make Jaemin smile like that.

 

Then, Donghyuck’s words register in his mind and his fist shoots out to give him a hard punch on the shoulder. “No–” Jeno groans. Leave it to Donghyuck to twist his words until they’re something akin of unholy. “He knocked that kid’s front teeth out because he was bullying a _cat_ Donghyuck, you couldn’t have expected me _not_ to fall for him–”

 

“Ah right,” Donghyuck snorts, and Jeno can practically hear his eyes rolling back into his head from the sheer force at which he’s doing it, “Because of the _cat_. I forgot you’re like, obsessed with animals. That must’ve seemed like such a superhero move to you.”

 

Jeno slams his locker shut.

 

He doesn’t have anything to say in retaliation to that, because for what it’s worth, it’s true. Ever since he was young, Jeno had developed a strange fascination for the animal kingdom, finding his interest lying amongst searching for the differentiation between the _Neofelis nebulosa_ and the _Panthera uncia_ rather than roughhousing on the soccer field with the rest of his friends.

 

He had honestly expected his schooling years in high school to be as pathetically lonely and for him to be just as unnoticed as he was in middle school, but somehow the quirks that made him ‘weird’ back then made him ‘cute’ now.

 

 _Awkward_ (somehow) became _endearing_ , and so Jeno rose to (somewhat) fame.

 

Initially, he thought it would die out by the time the first school year was over. But, to everyone’s utter surprise, it didn’t; and at present, it’s the year before their senior year and Jeno has already amassed a large fanbase that comprises of (mostly) giggling female juniors that have nothing better to do than to spend their days poking their noses into his business and wishing for nothing more than to become his girlfriend.

 

At least, that’s what Donghyuck describes them to be.

 

He honestly would’ve told them he was gay, but he sees no particular need to let them know anything. Plus, he’s got the presidency of his widely-popular veterinarian club all set probably because of aforementioned fame, so he’s not keen on complaining too much.

 

Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

“Okay,” Donghyuck says, “But hear me out here. I, as a caring friend, am tired of seeing you drag the corners of your frowny little mouth all around the dirty school hallways as you mope about Jaemin.”

 

“I don’t mope about Jaemin,” says Jeno, horrified. “ _God–_ I hope I do not.”

 

“You do.” Donghyuck flaps his hands, shooing away the imaginary thought bubbles popping up around Jeno’s head as if clearing his mind for him. “But, anyway, I think you should confess. Not just because it’s pathetic, but also because next year is senior year. Like, that’s really the end. We're all going to graduate, possibly go our separate ways and never see each other again.”

 

"If you confess now, what's the worst that could happen? Maybe Jaemin will reject you and everything will concurrently be awkwards, but what if he accepts? What if y'all get to be as disgustingly in love as Mark and I are? Are you willing to pass up that opportunity because you're too scared to take that risk?"

 

"Murphy's Quantum Law," Jeno hisses, "' _Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong._ ' Don't curse me!"

 

"Relax." Donghyuck rolls his eyes again. "Your love life will be fine as long as you're not there to jeopardise it." 

 

“What love life? I have no love life.” 

 

“Yeah, because you’re being a stubborn fuck,” Donghyuck retorts, nonplussed. “Come on, Jeno, don’t be stubborn. What if you become like Renjun, huh? He’s all lonely and alone because he’s too stubborn to admit he needs anyone.”

 

“I don’t think Renjun minds being ‘lonely and alone’,” Jeno points out helpfully, “He seems quite happy being as far away from you as possible and quite frankly, I don’t blame him.”

 

Donghyuck’s eyes narrow into slits as he glares forcefully at Jeno. “You keep being mean to me, Lee Jeno, and you see if I agree to be best man at your wedding with Jaemin. I’m gonna shit all over your altar.”

 

“I’m not marrying Jaemin! I’m pretty sure he like, doesn’t even know I exist.”

 

“Oh, he knows you exist,” The vestiges of a wicked smile are starting to manifest themselves on Donghyuck’s face and Jeno shudders involuntarily. Nothing good ever comes out of a mischievous Donghyuck, he has learnt over the years, after countless mishaps and accidents stemming from one bored Lee Donghyuck. “Don’t ask me how I know, but he _definitely_ knows you exist. I think you’d make quite a cute couple. Don’t you think so too?”

 

“Why? Just because he’s the class president and I just so happen to be president of the veterinary club?” Jeno deadpans.

 

“No,” Donghyuck says, looking as though Jeno has insulted him with his stupidity (which he probably has), “It’s because you’ve both been friends since you were like in diapers. You’re both walking K-drama cliches waiting to happen.”

 

“ _Acquaintances_ ,” Jeno corrects, “I’ve barely talked to him like at all. You can’t consider him my friend yet.”

 

“Talked to who?”

 

Jeno turns abruptly and comes face to face with Jaemin. He yelps in surprise and backpedals, stomping down on Donghyuck’s foot in the process. Donghyuck howls, flailing his arms around in distress as he lets loose a string of powerful expletives and shoves Jeno aside to plop down on the floor and cradle his wounded foot.

 

Jeno, who was in the process of swerving away, is thrown off course by Donghyuck’s shove and falls, unable to catch himself on time. The dirty school hallway floor is rapidly approaching, and the only thought on his mind is that he’ll sue Donghyuck if his nose happens to get blunted.

 

Then, his freefall is interrupted, and he’s caught in a soft warmth and is saved from faceplanting into the floor. He looks up and Jaemin is so, _so_ close.

 

He takes a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart before Jaemin can hear it crashing around in his chest and accidentally catches a whiff of the soft, flowery scent of fabric softener wafting from Jaemin’s thick school sweater mixing with the scent of rich coffee and it’s all too much for Jeno.

 

“Are you okay?” Jaemin asks, biting his bottom lip nervously. “I didn’t scare you too much?”

 

“No, no, it’s fine,” Jeno mumbles, righting himself and scurrying out of Jaemin’s accidental embrace, “I– I just got startled, that’s all. Uh, nothing wrong with you or anything.”

 

“Oh good,” Jaemin says, beginning to smile sweetly at Jeno, “Because I overheard you talking to Donghyuck and was just wondering what you both were talking about. Sorry to intrude like that.”

 

Jeno shoots a panicked glance to Donghyuck, who is slowly getting up from the floor in a fit of theatrics complete with whines and teary eyes as he nuzzles into Mark, the latter soaking up the attention and comforting Donghyuck with soft pats on the back.

 

He shudders.

 

“We weren’t talking about anyone in particular–”

 

“Jeno says you aren’t his friend!” Donghyuck yells smugly, suddenly listening in, “I was just telling him that you two are destined for each other, but he was adamantly denying it.”

 

“I’m not your friend?” Jaemin asks, surprise colouring his voice. “Oh this is– this got awkward really quickly–”

 

“No, you are!” Jeno defends quickly, waving his hands in Jaemin’s face as if to shoo away the negative thoughts. “I didn’t think you thought of me as a friend because, well, we’ve barely talked at all in any of our classes.”

 

“You’re always paying attention in class. I don’t have the heart to disturb you.” Amusement colours Jaemin’s voice. “And I don’t see you around much after school. You’re usually busy with the vet club right?”

 

“Y-yeah. The club.” Jeno’s voice trails off towards the end as he tilts his head quizzically. He wasn’t aware Jaemin even knew of his veterinary club.

 

“You have to invite me there one day,” Jaemin is saying, “I absolutely _love_ samoyeds and I want to find out more about them before I try and convince my parents to let me adopt one.”

 

Jeno’s breath hitches in his throat. Jaemin… wants to _adopt_ a samoyed?

 

“Oh no,” Donghyuck says, “Now you’ve done it Jaemin. Look at Jeno, he’s all heart-eyes now.” Everyone ignores him and Jeno’s hand shoots out to tug on Jaemin’s sleeve.

 

“You want to… _adopt_? Not buy a puppy or something?” Jeno’s voice is small, higher than it normally is, and he’s aware that his eyes have probably widened to twice their original size, but here is Jaemin, the love of his life, telling him that he wants to _adopt_ and not _buy_.

 

He thought Jaemin couldn’t get any more perfect, but here he is, talking about _adopting_ –

 

“Shelter dogs are cute too!” Jaemin insists. “I saw a really cute Samoyed when I went to one; if there’s one dog I’m going to bring home, then it’s definitely going to be her.”

 

Jeno nods quickly, hair flopping into his face. “Of course! Of course! Shelter dogs are amazing! Yes!”

 

“I knew you’d agree, Jeno.” Jaemin beams. “It was nice talking to you, but I think I have to get to Geography. Bye!” Before Jeno can react, Jaemin pats him twice on the back and leaves, winding through the giant mass of students in the hallway and leaving Jeno gaping like a fish as he stares at his leaving silhouette.

 

“He wanted to _adopt_ ,” Jeno’s shocked to the point where his mouth hangs open uselessly. Mark gently eases it shut for him. “I could _marry_ him at this point, oh my god.”

 

Donghyuck shakes his head. “We could tell. Why didn’t you tell him we were all in the same Geography class anyway? We could’ve walked together.”

 

Jeno opens his mouth to formulate a response, but the bell rings just then, and the three of them share a look before dashing down the hallway, slowed down only by other students getting caught in the middle of Mark and Donghyuck holding hands as they run.

 

 

 

 

 

They get to class only 7.6 minutes late (Mark counted) just as Mr Park, their eccentric geography teacher with a penchant for bathbombs and scented candles, is wrapping up on his summary of beach profiles and geology.

 

He doesn’t even pretend to be surprised that Jeno and Donghyuck are late, he simply ignores them. Mark, on the other hand, he fixes with a look of slight sympathy. He reaches into a tin under his desk and presses a lollipop into Mark’s free hand and shoos him back to his seat, before picking up where he left off.

 

Obviously, Mark chooses a seat in the front (because he claims it helps him internalise the lessons better) and this means Donghyuck does too, even though most of the lesson will be spent with his head on the table and in deep slumber.

 

The only seat left available is the one next to Jaemin, who is regarding him with unabridged confusion. Jeno sighs but makes his way over, sliding into the seat as he clears some of his stuff that has inadvertently spilled over into Jeno's desk space. 

 

“Hey,” Jaemin says, “I didn’t know you took Geography.”

 

“I’ve been in this class for the entire year,” Jeno replies, rummaging through his bag for his pencil, “Kinda surprised you didn’t notice.”

 

Jaemin sniffles, then pouts. He nudges Jeno’s arm with his elbow and drops his head on his arms to peer up at the latter with big, shining puppy-dog eyes. “You should’ve told me that we had the same class. Then we could’ve walked here together.”

 

“Next time then,” Jeno hums, turning his attention to Mr Park, giving himself a mental congratulatory pat on the back for not stuttering through his words like he was wont to do around someone like Jaemin.

 

Or maybe it was really just Jaemin.

 

Jeno is startled out of his daydreams by Mr Park clearing his throat noisily. “There concludes our module on coasts,” he says, “This year end, we’ll be going to Pebble Shore Lake as a class to study the beach there. Don’t forget to give your consent forms to your parents!”

 

Wordlessly, Jaemin slides over a consent form to Jeno when they've been passed to him and he accepts it with a grateful smile. He’s in the midst of shoving it into his bag haphazardly when Jaemin asks suddenly, “Can I sit with you on the plane ride there?”

 

Eyes widening, Jeno stares at Jaemin. “Why?”

 

Jaemin looks away nervously, fiddling with his hands. Jeno frowns. What reason does he have to be nervous?

 

“I just thought that it would be much more fun to sit beside you on the plane, because you’re definitely much better company than Mark.”

 

“Yeah,” Jeno says, “But like, _why_?”

Disappointment flickers across Jaemin's face, but it disappears as quickly as it had appeared. His smile is back on his face after faltering for a few seconds, but it is definitely less bright than before. "If you don't want to, it's fine as well!" He rushes to say, clasping Jeno's hand gently, "I can always find someone else to sit with–" 

 

"No!" Jaemin startles at the sheer volume and even Mr Park lifts his head to glare at the two of them. Jeno gives a sheepish smile to everyone except for Donghyuck then pulls Jaemin closer and whispers, "It's not that I don't want to sit with you, I just wasn't expecting it, but I don't mind sharing a row with you."

 

Jaemin's fingers drum a rhythm into Jeno's thigh where his palm rests on a rip in his jeans. "That's settled then!" He chirps, "I can't wait to spend more time with you!"

 

Jeno ends up smiling dumbly at Jaemin.

 

 _Yeah_ , his brain echoes,  _I can't wait either._

 

 

 

 

 

Jeno doesn't have to wait for very long, or rather, the time spent anticipating the trip went by in a frenzied blur.

 

The end of the year could not have possibly come faster, with exams coming and going faster than the blink of an eye. Jeno can't be bothered to remember how well he did for his individual papers anymore; what matters is that they're done and over, and he gets to go on a week-long trip to Pebble Shore Lake, Montana, with his longtime crush of 5 years in painfully close proximity. 

 

It's going to be one hell of a week.

 

"I heard that Mr Park cried on the plane because he was leaving his wife for the week," Donghyuck says off-handedly. The entire class was packed immediately into a bus upon arrival that is currently hurtling down the roads in Montana.

 

Jeno shifts uncomfortably in his seat. Mr Park may have miscalculated and chartered a bus that was slightly too small, so the four of them, meaning Mark, Donghyuck, Jaemin and himself, having drawn the short end of the stick had to squeeze in the backseat meant for three. 

 

(Or rather, Jeno realises,  _Mark_ had drawn the short end of the stick and Donghyuck followed, as he usually did, and Jeno followed Donghyuck. And all would have been swell, if Jaemin had not decided to follow Jeno as well, for some reason still incomprehensible to Jeno.) 

 

It was a tight fit, but they made it work, since Donghyuck was practically sitting on Mark's lap and would probably continue to do so for the entire roadtrip.

 

When Jeno had stepped onto the bus, he'd made the mistake of hesitating in front of the row of seats at the very back of the bus just for a fraction of a second. Donghyuck had then seized the opportunity to shove him into the window seat on the far right, and then sat Mark and himself on the opposite end. Jaemin had trailed behind like a lost puppy and took the only seat available (which, fortunately or unfortunately, was the one beside Jeno) since he was last. It was only after it had moved a considerable distance into their journey did he realise that Donghyuck had done it on purpose.

 

For now, Jaemin is pressed up against his side, so close that Jeno can feel the rhythmic movement of his chest rising and falling as he breathes. The distance is almost non-existent, their hands resting so close to each other that they're nearly touching.

 

Mark says something in reply that doesn't seem to register in Jeno's sleep-addled brain and Jaemin laughs. His hand shifts ever-so-slightly, the miniscule movement causing their hands to touch.

 

Jeno sucks in a breath as Jaemin startles and turns to peer at him through his eyelashes. "You doing okay?" He asks, linking their pinkies together with a practiced ease.

 

"I'm pretty jet-lagged," Jeno hums, "Or maybe I'm tired because I didn't sleep on the plane."

 

Jaemin tsks sharply and scolds Jeno for focusing too much on the in-flight entertainment, but he still reaches up a hand to smooth out his tousled, messy bangs. "You can take a nap right now, you know," he murmurs, "We still have quite a way before we get to the hotel. I promise I'll wake you up." 

 

In any other situation, Jeno would probably have declined. Donghyuck has told him on multiple situations that he snores like a stuck pig when he's asleep and that he drools. 

 

The last thing he wants to do is embarrass himself in front of his crush; but his eyelids are so heavy right now that he can barely fight to keep them open anymore. 

 

"Pinky promise?" Jeno yawns, eyes drooping shut. His head lolls to the side as the bus hits a bump in the road and he jolts awake, only to semi-drift off to sleep again.

 

"Pinky promise," Jaemin assures, using his free hand to guide Jeno's head onto his shoulder. Words of protest fall from Jeno's lips, but Jaemin pays them no heed, shushing him and telling him to just take a nap. 

 

Throwing all caution to the wind, Jeno allows himself to drift off to sleep, his head pillowed on Jaemin's shoulder. The gentle rocking of the bus from side to side as it traipses down roads and past scenic scenery quickly tugs Jeno deeper into his dreamscape, and the world mostly tunes out around him. 

 

He can still vaguely hear what is going on around him but it doesn't register in his mind, considering his semi-conscious state. He vaguely hears Mark say something, then hears Jaemin give a tentative reply. Donghyuck cuts in at a volume that's slightly too loud and is promptly shushed by Jaemin, whose hand finds its way into Jeno's hair.

 

Tentative fingers card through his bangs gently, the repeated motion soothing and lulling Jeno into an even more relaxed state as he sighs and nuzzles his nose into Jaemin's shoulder sleepily. 

 

Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, Jeno's name is mentioned, and he can't figure out what is being said, but Jaemin is clearly taken aback; his hands stop playing with Jeno's hair and he freezes up, jolting Jeno's head fractionally. In his sleep, Jeno snuffles and Jaemin immediately relaxes, continuing his ministrations on Jeno's hair.  

 

Jeno finally relaxes fully, his breath coming out of his nose with a soft whoosh as he finally drifts off properly. 

 

 

 

When he wakes up, it's to a weight resting atop his head. The bus has fallen much more silent than it was a while ago, with his classmates falling asleep in their seats due to the time differences between South Korea and the USA. Even the ever-noisy Donghyuck has fallen asleep and is snoring silently into the soft fabric of Mark's sweater.

 

The pair look strangely domestic, their bodies curling in towards each other with Donghyuck's face tucked securely in the crook of Mark's neck. They're still holding hands, small smiles of contentment quirking the corners of their lips upwards even in the unconsciousness of slumber. 

 

An involuntary smile makes its way onto Jeno's features and he's grinning stupidly at them before he's aware of it. No matter how much shit he may give Donghyuck for his relationship and its overly-affectionate nature, there's no denying that Mark is perfect for him, with both parties complementing each other in the best ways possible, so he's happy for them.

 

(Deep down inside, Jeno knows that he is also envious of what they have.)

 

Glancing upwards, Jeno realises that the weight pressing into the crown of his head is actually Jaemin's head. The latter seems to crave physical touch even in sleep, his hand loosely gripping Jeno's own. Despite rational thought screaming at him to move his hand, Jeno doesn't do anything of that sort, just sits back to observe Jaemin in the soft sunlight streaming in from the open window.

 

Jaemin looks much more softer in his sleep, the lines of worry that have been etched into his skin by class president duties and weekly graded assignments and tests slowly fading. There is still a crease between his eyebrows and Jeno smoothens it out with the tip of his index finger.

 

The small action causes Jaemin to stir slightly, and he murmurs something with a sort of sleepy contentment that fills Jeno up with the rich, molten gold feeling of calm happiness in his chest.

 

Jeno holds his breath, waiting to see if Jaemin will wake up and ask questions that he doesn't quite have the answers to, but all Jaemin does is readjust his position and go back to sleep, breaths evening out again. They fan out across the sensitive shell of Jeno's ear and he shudders slightly, tickled. It is only then that Jeno allows himself to relax, slumping down in his seat as much as he can without moving Jaemin's head too much and sighs to himself, feeling butterflies stirring in the pit of his stomach.

 

" _You should confess_ ," Donghyuck's words spring to his mind unbidden, " _What's the worst that could happen_?" 

 

Inwardly, Jeno rues the day he ever met Donghyuck, and he curses anything that has happened so far in the long journey that can be considered their friendship that has led to this singular moment where he, Lee Jeno, is actually considering what _he_ , Lee Donghyuck, has mentioned. 

 

(He wonders when Donghyuck started to become the voice of reason in his head and  _when_ he got those qualifications to even be a voice of reason.)

 

This time he knows that Donghyuck was being sincere when he'd talked to Jeno some time ago, back in the hallways of their school in Korea, which means that it's a pretty  _fucking_ big deal. Donghyuck's never serious unless it concerns life and death situations, but even then you can't count on him to 100% mean what he says. So, this is a big deal.

 

Jeno potentially confessing to Jaemin is a _very_ big deal. 

 

If he confesses, he'd be wandering into uncharted waters– he just doesn't know how Jaemin will react. He doubts Jaemin will react too badly, because he doesn't possess a single bad bone in his body. But, the fear is still there, because Jeno knows that if he tells Jaemin how he really feels, their friendship or whatever little of it that they have will disintegrate. 

 

He'd rather remain as just-friends with Jaemin than to even hazard the risk of losing him.

 

But he is worth it. 

 

Jeno lets out a pained noise of confusion.

 

To say that he hasn't had other crushes in the past 5 years that he's hopelessly pined over Jaemin would be a big fat lie, and Lee Jeno doesn't lie. Donghyuck likes to say that they never lasted because they were never Jaemin, and Jeno kind of agrees. All the people he'd crushed on had all reminded him of Jaemin in one way or another, and the reason why he'd dropped them was because they never possessed the other traits that Jaemin did that Jeno treasured.

 

And although Jeno has a disliking for constants (they'll eventually get boring, he rationalises, there's no use keeping them around), still he finds that he doesn't really mind if Jaemin were to become a constant in his life.

 

Scratch that, he  _really_ wants Jaemin to be a constant in his life.

 

Quietly, without jostling Jaemin too much, he slips his hand into Jaemin's and intertwines their fingers. He resolves to confess later, some way, somehow, but he's going to do it. He's got to do it. If Jaemin wakes up later and notices their interlaced fingers, he'll brush it off as weird sleeping habits. He gives it a squeeze then directs his attention out of the window.

 

He fails to notice a sleepy smile spreading on a half-asleep Jaemin's face.

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm going to confess to Jaemin." Jeno announces, 3 days into their trip after his moment on the bus, and flings the door to Donghyuck and Mark's shared room open. "I think I'm going to– woah!" 

 

Donghyuck sits up, annoyed. He's breathing heavily and he's a mess, with his hair mussed and a steady red flush rising in his cheeks as he glares pointedly at Jeno. Mark is pinned underneath him in a similar dishevelled state, and it doesn't take long for Jeno to put two and two together. 

 

"Get a room," he groans, "Don't be gross!" 

 

"This is my room!" Donghyuck yells and adjusts his shirt. His lips are slicked with spit and slightly bruised and he picks up Mark's hardcover book and hurls it at Jeno, muttering curses under his breath.

 

Mark, ever-the-peacemaker, patiently pats Donghyuck's thigh and sits up once he's slid off of him and turns his attention to Jeno. "You said something about Jaemin?"

 

Both Jeno and Donghyuck perk up in unison (though for slightly differing reasons).

  
Nodding, Jeno casts his eyes onto the carpet. A sudden wave of shyness washes over him and he finds it hard to get his next words out. "I thought about it and–" Jeno winces, "–Donghyuck was right. I need to convince to Jaemin now or I might lose the chance forever." 

 

Donghyuck lets out a whoop. Mark frowns, tugging on Donghyuck's sleeve lightly to get him to sit back down beside him. "Are you sure you're ready?" Mark asks gently, ignoring his boyfriend's protests, "Aren't you afraid that Jaemin will reject you?"

 

Jeno hesitates. "I am," he affirms slowly, "But I'll never know unless I try." His shoulders slump. "I don't know how to do it, though. That's why I came." 

 

Mark, seemingly understanding, only nods; but Donghyuck raises his eyebrow and begins to grin deviously. "Oho!" He crows, "Are you _really_  about to ask me how Mark  _confessed_ to me?"

 

Mark frowns. "No, Duckie, you confessed to me."

 

"Shut up," Donghyuck says, pressing his hand onto Mark's mouth to silence him. Turning to Jeno, he begins to babble excitedly. "I think you should do something big or flamboyant– confess with those taglines hanging from planes flying in the air! How about something bright like a fireworks show? Or maybe those big confessions with big bouquets of flowers and–" 

 

"Donghyuck," Mark chides gently and Donghyuck slams his mouth shut, staring at Mark with a sheepish look on his face. Mark laughs at him fondly, booping his nose with the tip of his index finger and Donghyuck whines at him, hands fluttering over his nose to cover and protect it. 

 

Jeno watches their interaction with no small amount of poorly-concealed envy. When it gets too much for him and it looks as if they're about to continue where they'd left off after Jeno had interrupted them, he clears his throat loudly and they spring apart abruptly.

 

Mark sighs, but there is no anger marring his features. "I think you should just ignore Donghyuck," He says, pointedly ignoring Donghyuck's indignant shout in the background, "Just do you. Go and confess how you would do it, not how Donghyuck would do it, not how I would do it; just you. Jaemin would probably appreciate it." 

 

 _Just me_? Jeno looks down at his own hands. What does he have that makes him intrinsically unique? And what is it of himself that's unique enough for Jaemin to appreciate?

 

As if he is able to hear Jeno's inner thoughts, Donghyuck sighs deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose in mock-irritation. "You could always confess like one of those animals that you really like," he suggests saracstically, "Learn a mating dance or something. Wear something painfully bright and neon and blind him, I bet you'd seem  _so_ attractive to Jaemin." 

 

Jeno goes quiet. 

 

"Oh, no no no–" Panic rises in Donghyuck's voice, "Lee Jeno, you are not thinking of what I am thinking you should not do–!"

 

He is thinking of precisely what Donghyuck is thinking he should not do. In fact, it seems like a pretty foolproof plan. If Jaemin doesn't understand or doesn't seem to appreciate the gesture, he can always brush it off as a random action with no particular motives; but if he understands and appreciates the gesture, Jeno will know that he's in the clear and can  _ask Jaemin on a date._

"Thanks Donghyuck, thanks Mark," Jeno says, dazed and standing to leave, "It was nice chatting with you, but now I have a confession to prepare for." 

 

 

 

 

 

It is the last day of their school trip before they have to pack up and go home, and Jeno has been dreading this day since he came to his Big Revelation and formulated a plan. It's a beautiful day in itself; the sky is cobalt blue and is dotted with one or two lone clouds in the sky. 

 

Seeing the ideal weather, Mr Park tells them all to enjoy their last day at Pebble Shore Lake by doing whatever they want to for the day. Beside him, Jaemin whoops, pumping his fist in the air. "Freedom!" He cheers, turning to Jeno. "I'm going to go down to the beach and see if I can bring anything back for my family. Do you want to come along?" 

 

"Sure," Jeno says, "There's no other way I'd rather spend today, other than with you." He's nearly swept away by Jaemin's answering smile, which has been the biggest, brightest that he's ever seen. 

 

They spend most of their morning like that a few feet apart from each other, with the cuffs of their pants rolled up their legs to prevent them from getting soaked in the water. Jeno watches Jaemin stand in the shallow end to peer through the clear water at the bottom of the lake down below and decides that he's adequately distracted and busies himself with finding the perfect pebble for the occasion. 

 

An hour later, Jeno's fingers resemble aged, wrinkled prunes and there's a slight chill running up his arms because of the sheer length of time that his hands have spent soaked in water, but he's finally found  _the_ stone. The perfect pebble for Jaemin.

 

He sucks in a quick breath, feeling his heartbeat thrum erratically underneath his skin as he tries to gather all his courage.  _It's now or never_ , Jeno tells himself, reminding himself that he has to make use of this great opportunity having gotten to know Jaemin much better and falling deeper in love to confess while he can. Before they have to go home and get hit with a truckload of responsibilities and worries spilling over from senior year. 

 

He runs through the plan in his head for what seems like the millionth time that minute and even finds the time to reflect upon the backup plans, in case the main one fails to go as smoothly as he'd intended. 

 

It doesn't seem as perfect as he hopes it will be, but it will have to do. 

 

The stone in his hand is small, but it weighs heavily on his thoughts and Jeno has a good mind to just put it down, leave it in the water and run away with his imaginary tail tucked between his legs. But his mother didn’t raise him to be a coward, and so he takes a few shaky steps forward, cups his hands around his mouth, and shouts for Jaemin.

 

At the sound of his name, the pink-haired boy’s ears perk up, and he gives Jeno the most blinding smile upon locating him and comes splashing through the water to him. “Hi Jeno,” he breathes, drying his hands on his shorts, “What’s up?”

 

All rational thought goes flying out of his brain the minute he sees Jaemin, and he promptly forgets the plan and anything associated with it. So, he doesn’t reply immediately. Instead, he takes in a quick, deep breath which does nothing to calm his nerves, then bends down at the waist ever-so-slightly and grabs Jaemin’s dainty wrist, pulling his hand upward until his palm faces skyward, then drops the stone in his palm.

 

“I just found this really pretty pebble,” Jeno says flippantly, as if he hasn’t just spent the entire day hunting for it, “I saw it and thought of you.”

 

“Oh?” Jaemin arches an eyebrow but doesn’t yank his hand away, instead of moving closer to Jeno to look at the pebble from his point of view. He scrunches up his nose cutely. “Is this an animal thing?”

 

Jeno breaks out into a cold sweat.

 

At this point, he’s vaguely aware that he’s still holding onto Jaemin’s wrist and so he drops his hand, shoving it back into his pocket with more force than intended.

 

“It– uh– _could_ be…?” He prays fervently in his head that Jaemin doesn’t pick up on the nerves that shake his voice.

 

Even if he does, he doesn’t say a thing.

 

Jaemin studies his face for a few seconds, expression unreadable. Jeno begins to feel sweat beading at his temple and he quickly brings a hand up to mop at his forehead with his sleeve. After what seems like an eternity, he eventually stops staring at him with a soft look on his face and begins to inspect the pretty pebble, turning it over in his hands.

 

It’s undeniably beautiful, an opalescent rock glimmering with a soft rainbow sheen as the light reflects off the smooth curvature of the stone. Jaemin makes a pleased sound at the back of his throat. “Cute,” he says, smiling sweetly to himself as he rubs his thumb over the pebble’s cool surface.

 

His voice is soft, barely louder than a whisper– but Jeno hears him all the same, and the blood immediately rushes to his cheeks, colouring them a violent red.

 

“I’m going to keep this,” Jaemin announces, once Jeno’s flush has lightened considerably, “I really hope you weren’t just showing it to me or something, because I really like this pebble. My brother Jisung is gonna love it.”

 

“Oh no, it’s for you!” Jeno flounders, waving his hands rapidly. He cannot fight the smile of pleased contentment that tugs at the corners of his lips and raises them up until he’s grinning like a fool, eyes narrowing into his signature crescents as the relief of Jaemin accepting his small gift fills him and leaves him with a warm glow of happiness emanating from the very fibre of his core. “It was a gift, you should keep it.”

 

Jaemin has the audacity to look like an angel as he runs a slightly damp hand through his sea-salted hair, tousling it slightly so it frames his face perfectly. Jeno wants to die on the inside, but then again he’s not sure if he was ever alive since he’d started talking to Jaemin today, so he settles for subtly gawking.

 

(It’s not subtle.)

 

“Thanks again, Jeno.” Jaemin grins. That appears to be the end of their conversation, and Jeno isn’t masochistic enough to stick around and continue to torture his poor, rapidly beating heart, so he’s just about to turn and leave when–

 

“Just so we’re clear, this is a marriage proposal, right? Like what the Adelie penguins do?”

 

Jeno freezes at the sound of Jaemin’s voice, one foot dripping wet and in the air from where he was attempting to tiptoe around the rock back to shore Donghyuck was surely waiting to laugh at him and his miserable attempt at finding love.

 

“W-what?” He stutters eloquently, blush coming back onto his cheeks in full force. “P-proposal?”

 

Jaemin pouts. “I mean, I wasn’t expecting to get married to you in high school, always kinda figured you wouldn’t propose to me until much, much later in life but hey, since you’ve given me a marriage offering in the form of this pebble, why not right?”

 

“Uh,” says Jeno smartly, completely lost, “ _What?_ ”

 

Sighing, Jaemin takes a few steps closer to Jeno. When the latter tries to escape, he simply winds an arm around his waist, tugging him in closer. Sparks dance across Jeno’s skin when Jaemin’s hand brushes against his own and he gasps, the feeling electrifying and sending shivers down Jeno’s spine.

 

“Stop trying to run away when I’m trying to explain things to you,” he says impatiently, breath fanning over the tip of Jeno’s nose.

 

Jeno’s heart has shifted into maximum overdrive at this point, its palpitations frenzied to the point that he is afraid to open his mouth to say anything lest his heart decides to leap out of his fucking throat or something.

 

“So, I’ve accepted your pebble and we’re getting married now,” Jaemin concludes with a sparkle in his eye, “You want a summer wedding or a fall wedding? I’m not particularly picky.”

 

Unlike his heart, Jeno’s brain has completely stopped working. He feels Jaemin’s expectant gaze on him, and feels like he has to say something, so he opens his mouth and blurts out the first thing that comes to mind: “–Only if you go on a date with me first!”

 

This is, apparently, both the wrong and the right thing to say; because Jaemin giggles, leaning his head forward until their foreheads are resting against each other.

 

“Silly Jeno, we’re getting married already, why do we still need to go on a date?”

 

“Let’s start slow,” Jeno replies, the horror of what he’s unwittingly done finally dawning on him, “We don’t have to get married right away, we can just– ah get to know each other first?

 

He really doesn’t know how he’s going to explain to his mother how he’s gotten himself a fiance over the span of a few days on a school trip under the supervision of the teachers, no less.

 

He imagines that it will be nothing short of chaotic. But, because it’s Jaemin, Jeno finds that he doesn’t really mind.

 

“Then, how does that cafe we passed by just now on the way here with the nice open view of the sea and the tastiest looking sandwiches sound? We can just spend the time to get to know each other, like you want.” Jaemin relinquishes his grip on Jeno and takes a few steps back. Jeno almost lurches forward, already missing the gentle warmth he emanated, but he barely holds himself back so as not to seem like a creep.

 

Jaemin winks. “You're lucky I like you,” he teases, leaning down to give Jeno a peck on his cheek. 

 

If Jeno thought he couldn't get any redder, he was terribly, terribly wrong.

 

A violent shade of red immediately dusts his cheeks, the blood rushing to his head making him swoon and duck his head in embarrassment. A guttural noise of utter nonsense finds its way out of his throat and Jaemin just laughs, rubbing a thumb over his pinked cheeks.

 

Then, Jaemin’s gone and taking Jeno’s heart with him, splashing through the water as he runs away to where Mark is standing not too far away to kick saltwater into his gaping mouth. There’s a slightly raised bump in the back pocket of his shorts in the vague outline of the pebble that he’d given him which reminds Jeno that no matter how surreal the moment seems, it isn’t quite a dream, and he really does have a date with Jaemin in just a little over an hour.

 

Oh my God. He has a date.

 

He has a date with Jaemin.

 

He, Lee fucking Jeno, has a date with _Jaemin._

 

Jeno’s knees go weak.

 

Donghyuck is _so_ not going to believe what just happened. 

**Author's Note:**

> to: my wynner
> 
>    
> this is my first nct fic (lol don't include aus and prompts pls) and i churned it out in the middle of the exam period so pls excuse if its shitty or anything lmao i swear im not a shit writer (i think)
> 
> i have really messy grammar too i switch between tenses at times according to which sounds more natural (aka which ive heard more) so also pls overlook
> 
> let me know if it gets too long, draggy or anything just give feedback!! even if you're gonna diss it thats fine too just let me know how to improve it thank you <3


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